Last Words
by redbeanmochi
Summary: Just a drabble series, exploring the deaths and last words of the characters of Inception  the summary sucks, I know   Rated for some offensive language. Rate/review please!
1. Cobb

A/N: I realize I haven't written anything in a while, so how bout a new fanfic, eh? So basically, this one is about Cobb's death and last words, narrated by Phillipa. Enjoy!

* * *

On November 29, 2033, my father died. I was 28, without a job and living with my dad. James was in grad school at the time. Poor James, the last time he saw dad was 2 Christmases ago.

On November 23, dad was sick. The doctor said it was only a fever and that he would be fine. Well, that doctor lied. With each passing day, his conditions only got worse. I hate that doctor.  
On November 25, dad sat me down and told me the truth about his job. I didn't understand it at first, and to be honest, I was angry he didn't tell me the truth earlier.

"So… you're a thief?" I asked.

"I realize… it's not exactly legal… but it was… necessary at the time…" he wheezed.

"I don't understand. What was so necessary about stealing people's thoughts that you had to abandon James and me?"

"Well… I came back, didn't I?"

"What if you didn't come back? It was already hard enough losing mom. What if we lost you forever too?"

"It's… you wouldn't understand it. I was… bound to this job…"

"Whatever."

I regret that conversation. I was angry and confused and I didn't have the right to yell at him like that. He was caught up in his job and he could have done better, but at least he still came back.

-  
On November 27, Arthur and Ariadne visited dad. They used to be in the same business that dad was in, but those days were gone. I hadn't seen them since I was about 10. It came as a surprise to me when they just randomly showed up at the door, but somehow, dad knew they were coming. The trio conversed, speaking not even so loud as a whisper. As I passed by the room, I ducked behind the door and just barely peered inside. They continued talking for a few minutes and then Ariadne shoved something into dad's hand. I couldn't really tell what they were, but I soon found out that they were a chess piece and a loaded die- their totems.

Dad protested, trying to give it back to them, but Arthur simply shook his head and pushed dad's hand away.

"We don't need them anymore, Cobb- we're free," Ariadne explained.

And with that, they stepped out of our lives and I haven't seen them since then.

-  
On November 29, dad knew it was coming- his death. He beckoned for me to come over and I sat by him. He stared at me with his sad blue eyes and gently grabbed my hand.

"Everyday, you look more and more like your mother. Your mother was a wonderful person. She would be so proud of you, were she here," he wheezed. I squeezed his hand tight. He lifted his body from the bed and placed his face by my ear.

"Don't ever stop dreaming, Phillipa," he whispered and then laid back down. As he exhaled his last breath, he just barely whispers something:

"I'm coming home, Mal."


	2. Arthur

A/N: New chapter! I have an obsession with Ariadne and Arthur, so... yeah :)  
Inception does not belong to me. If it did, I would explode from its sheer awesomeness.

* * *

After the Fischer job, everyone simply stepped out of Ariadne's life. For a few weeks, she was furious. But she finally settled down and accepted that their parting was necessary. After all, it was completely idiotic of her to think that they would actually stay together afterward. However, she still remained in touch with the team. Occasionally, she would receive a postcard from Cobb and his kids, emails from Yusuf, (badly written) letters from Eames, which to her amazement would always arrive, despite the misspelling of her address, and even holiday greetings from Saito. But she never heard from Arthur. And this, honestly, pissed her off.

Did the numerous hours they spent together training mean nothing? Did the lunches they spent together talking about their work mean nothing? Did the kiss mean nothing? Apparently, to Arthur, it meant nothing. Or so Ariadne thought.

After five years without contact, Ariadne was about to give up and simply forget about Arthur. And then he rang her.

On December 17, 2015, Ariadne was preparing her dinner when the phone rang, suddenly. But who could possibly be calling her? She had just moved into her new apartment you see, and nobody knew her new number. She gripped the spatula she was holding, for reasons she didn't even know, and made her way towards the phone. Cautiously, Ariadne picked up the phone and spoke slowly.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Ariadne?"

His voice rang in her ears and she froze, in shock. Ariadne felt her knees go weak and almost dropped the phone. _No,_ she thought to herself, _just act normal._

"Yes, who is this?" she said, nonchalantly.

"It's me… Arthur."

"Arthur! It's been too long." She could hear the bitterness in her voice and she was sure he could too.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't call earlier."

"Oh no, it's only been 5 years, as I recall."

Silence.

"Well aren't you going to say something?" she asked, annoyed.

"What?"

"You called me, so I'd suspect you'd have something important to say."

"Right. I was just wondering, since I was in town… If you'd like to meet up. You know, catch up on our lives."

"Arthur- Whateveryourlastnameis," she scolded angrily, "You walk out of my life for 5 years and make no effort at keeping in touch with me and then suddenly, you decide you can just waltz back into my life as if nothing has happened?"

"Well I'm calling you now, aren't I?"

"Stay out of my life, you asshole!"

"But… I'm already outside…"

Ariadne dropped the phone and rushed to the door, throwing it open. And sure enough, Arthur was standing right outside, his cell phone still pressed against his ear. She took 2 quick, angry steps toward him and he took 2 confused steps back.

"I waited for 5 whole years!" she yelled as she whipped him with the spatula.

"Ow! Ariadne!" Arthur screeched as he shields himself from her metal lashes.

Slowly and carefully, Arthur reached around Ariadne's body and hugged her, pressing her face into his chest.

"Look, I'm sorry it took me 5 years to get here. I was nervous. Every time I wanted to call, I just couldn't," he explained with a sigh.

Succumbing to his embrace, Ariadne stops fighting him and drops the spatula. Tears burn her eyes as she wraps her arms around Arthur's waist.

"I hate you…" she muttered.

"Yeah, I hate myself too," Arthur sighed.

"Wait a minute. I just moved in. How did you get my number?"

"Uhm. Let's not talk about that…"

-  
Over the next few years, Ariadne and Arthur would have arguments and then kiss and make up. In other words, they were in love. On December 20, 2020, Arthur would propose to Ariadne. Naturally, Ariadne said yes and they were married in June. A few years later, Arthur was to go on a business trip for 3 months.

The day Arthur returned, on June 21, 2025, he called Ariadne and told her to wait for him at central park at exactly 8:00 PM.

"But how will I know where you are?" she asked him on the phone.

"I'll find you. Tonight, 8:00 sharp." Ariadne laughed.

"You and your details. I'll see you then, Mr. Pointman."

At 7:30, Ariadne slipped into a dark blue dress, the one she wore on their first date and set off for Central Park. She left the house at 7:50. At 8:00, when Arthur was not present, Ariadne began to worry. Arthur was never late.

At this time of night, Central Park was brightly lit, but the problem was that it was so crowded, she couldn't find Arthur. She looked around and finally, caught a glimpse of him through the passing crowd. Her face lit up as she bolted towards him.

But when she finally reached him, Arthur was leaning against a tree, clutching his stomach and his suit was stained red.

"Funny thing happened to me today, darling. I managed to miss my flight, waste money and time on buying a new ticket, get mugged and die in the same day," he chuckled as he dropped to his knees.

"Please… Please don't say that…" Ariadne choked as she got down on her knees and pressed her forehead against Arthur's.

"I'm sorry I'm so stupid…"

"You're going to be fine; we just need to get you some help," Ariadne insisted as she tried to pull Arthur to his feet, but he refused.

"Quick, give me a kiss," he said smiling and she complied.

"Please don't leave me," Ariadne insisted, but Arthur was already closing his eyes. "Well, it was worth a shot."

And then he was gone.

* * *

A/N: I realize that this doesn't exactly fit in with Cobb's story since they go and visit Cobb in 2033, but let's just forget about dates and details, shall we?


	3. Yusuf Part 1

A/N: Yay Yusuf! I realize that he doesn't nearly get enough love on here, so I've constructed a large 2 part story for our favorite chemist! Enjoy!

* * *

  
The inception was years ago. So why was Yusuf still hearing "Non Je Ne Regrette Rien" every time he woke up?

Yusuf rolled out of bed, rubbing his eyes. _It's over. Gone. Done,_ he keeps reminding himself. He knows that life will never be the same, but telling himself that helps him to forget about it for a while.

"Oi, Yusuf, one lump or two?" his flat mate and colleague, Dean, asked.

"You know the answer to that… Two lumps, always," Yusuf muttered in response.

He watched as the lanky Brit rolled his eyes and walked out of his room. Often, Yusuf would find himself glaring at Dean in envy. Dean, Yusuf believed, was simply more perfect than him in all ways possible. Yusuf was short and stout while Dean was tall and skinny. Dean had perfect, straight blond hair and Yusuf's hair was dark brown and sat upon his head in a curly mess. But Yusuf realized there was no use sighing and acting like a damn fool about it and he was just going to have to get used to the fact that the women would always flock to Dean. _Besides, _Yusuf thought, _he's smart, but nowhere as smart as I am._

The thought perked Yusuf up a bit as he lifted himself out of bed and got ready for the day.

The day passed normally, Yusuf played around with chemicals, Dean did something stupid, customers came in to dream. When Yusuf finally got home though, he noticed a letter addressed to him.

_Funny… No one ever sends me post…_ he scoffed to himself as he examined the letter. It was from Ariadne and Arthur. _And?_ he pondered, raising an eyebrow.

He ripped the envelope open and slid the letter out. In curly font, it boldly declared that Ariadne and Arthur were to be married on the 27th of June and that Yusuf was invited.

"Bloody fuck!" Yusuf yelped. He didn't even know that they had gotten together.

"What happened? Did you burn your eyebrows off again?" Dean asked, running into the room. Yusuf glared at him.

"_No_," he declared, "I'm invited to a wedding and that was _your_ fault."

"I just popped in to tell you I was going out! It's your fault you freaked out and stuck your face in the Bunsen burner!" Dean claimed.

"Whatever, I need a suit…" Yusuf muttered.

"A suit? No, no you don't wear a suit to a wedding, dear boy. How close would you say you are to the couple?" Dean probed.

"The girl is wonderful. By far the most amazing person I've ever met. The boy is… a bit less. But a good drinking buddy, if I may say so," Yusuf explained.

"Well they sound like lovely people, but how close are you to them?" Dean asked, smiling devilishly.

"We're… Not actually very close at all anymore…" Yusuf realized. True, he had remained in contact with Ariadne, but they hadn't said more than a quaint, "Hello, how are you doing, I'm fine, and you?" in months.

"Exactly. So, naturally, you need a tux and naturally, this means you have to go shopping and naturally, as your room mate and your, presumably, only friend, I am obligated to pick one out for you," Dean purred.

The thing about Dean was that he was obsessed with shopping. He reminded Yusuf greatly of a Japanese businessman he once worked for…

When the wedding finally rolled around, Yusuf's head was swirling in confusion. See, being a chemist, Yusuf's only joys in life were mixing chemicals and watching them explode (he was a boy, after all). He didn't really have any close friends and he had never attended a wedding in his life, so he had to have Dean teach him how to act and how to speak and above all else how to not completely ruin the wedding.

Yusuf arrived at the chapel and slowly walked up the steps to the door. He grunted as he pulled at his bowtie and walked inside. Almost immediately, he saw a familiar face. Eames.

"Mister Eames!" he called, walking over.

"Yusuf! Good to see you!" Eames chirped, patting Yusuf on the back.

"Did you know about… You know, _them_?" Yusuf asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I had a bet running with Cobb that that stick in the mud was never getting married. Obviously, I lost…" he muttered angrily.

"Is Mister Cobb here as well?" Yusuf asked, taking a seat next to Eames.

"Jesus! Stop with the whole 'Mister' business! Just call us by our names, for fuck's sake!" Eames fumed with a laugh. Yusuf chuckled uncomfortably.

"And what about Mi- I mean… What about Saito?" he asked.

"He was invited. But he's a busy man, so naturally he couldn't. He gave them his blessing though- paid for almost the entire wedding," Eames explained.

"Shame he couldn't be here. At least the rest of us are here though. It's nice to be among friends," Yusuf sighed as the wedding began.

At the reception, Ariadne literally leapt towards Yusuf.

"Yusuf! It's so great to see you!" she cheered, hugging him.

"Now, now Ariadne. You've only been married for a few hours. You can't just throw yourself at other men!" Eames scolded. Ariadne punched him. Yusuf laughed. This moment was probably the happiest he had felt in a long time. It was true; it is nice to be among friends.

"What have you two been up to? I haven't seen you since the inception, you know," Yusuf asked, stealing a glass of champagne from a waiter.

"I graduated a few years back and now I'm working at an architecture firm and Arthur became a journalist, of all things," Ariadne explained with a laugh.

"A _journalist_?" Yusuf sputtered.

"You know me, details and all. C'est la vie," Arthur said with a shrug.

"What about you, Eames?"

"I got into uhm. Law…"

"Are you still running your shop?" Ariadne asked Yusuf with a smile.

"Yes, sadly. It doesn't pay much, but it pays the bills and I still have Saito's compensation saved up, so life isn't all too bad," Yusuf explained.

But that was more or less a lie. Business had been bad for the past few years and Dean was usually the one paying the bills these days.

"Come, Yusuf. Let's have a little chat…" Eames said, directing him away from the couple.

Eames led Yusuf far away from the wedding party and even then, he still spoke just above a whisper.

"I'm not really in law," he confessed.

"Well that's obvious…" Yusuf muttered, rolling his eyes. Eames glared.

"Anyways, I'm still in the extracting business and we need a chemist for the next job," Eames explained.

"Do I need to go in again? Because if I do, you can bloody well count me out. I almost died last time!"

"No no no. We just need you to make us a serum."

"What, like last time?"

"No, even stronger than that."

Yusuf stared at Eames with squinted eyes.

"It pays fabulously. Almost as good as Saito. Come on, mate. How 'bout it? One last job for a friend?" Eames pleaded, holding out his hand.

"Well my job sucks and I'm almost broke… So… fine. One last job," Yusuf agreed, shaking Eames' hand.

Even though he wasn't entirely sure he could do it.


	4. Yusuf Part 2

A/N: The last part of Yusuf's story! Honestly, I cried a little bit when I wrote this one. As always, Inception belongs to the genius that is Christopher Nolan and Yusuf and Eames belong to him, but Dean is my own character. Not that he's all that important in this story, but whatever. Enjoy! Or cry. I dunno. Whichever one.

* * *

  
"So, what we need," Eames explained, "is a sedative- a strong one."

"Inception again?" Yusuf asked, raising an eyebrow. Eames smiled.

"I can just make it right now and you can be on your way," Yusuf suggested.

"No, no. We need something a bit weaker this time, if you please. We need something that will keep us asleep, but we need to be able to get out of it. We can't afford to have something like Saito happen again."

"Well it will take me a few weeks to get together."

"I'll stay in Mombasa until you finish it then. Check up every so often and such." Yusuf could have kissed Eames right there and then. In all his life, Yusuf was always alone. He didn't have any friends growing up as a child- he was too smart for his own good- and at his job, Dean was the only connection with anything besides chemistry. Cobb and the rest of the team were the only things relatively close to friends he ever had.

As Eames headed out of Yusuf's shop, Eames turned and gave him a small wave which Yusuf returned with a smile and a brief nod.

-  
One week later, Eames was at his shop again, checking up on Yusuf.

"It's taken me a while to figure this out, but I think I might have gotten it. Basically, it's a very strong sedative, but very sensitive. It will keep you asleep, but the slightest bit of movement will take you out of the dream, so you'll have to be careful," Yusuf explained.

"Shall we test it out then?" Eames asked.

Yusuf lead Eames to the back room- the back room full of customers snoozing away, dreaming peacefully- and puts him under.

"Mr. Eames, can you hear me?" he whispers.

"I thought I told you to drop the mister…" Eames muttered.

"Excellent. So you see, it's strong but still very light. So, you're going to want to make sure you use earplugs or something, as to not mess things up. I'm going to wake you up now," Yusuf said, tipping Eames' chair over. He toppled out of the chair, but still remained unconscious.

"Oh for fuck's sake…" Yusuf muttered, palming his face. The only thing he could do now was to wait for time to run out. When Eames finally woke, he found himself face down on the floor.

"The fuck happened?" he asked, getting up.

"It seems I haven't quite got it yet, actually," Yusuf sighed in defeat.

"It would seem that I've made the sedative a little bit too strong. I'll need another week or so to work on that, I'm afraid," he explained.

"Right, well call me when you've got it. Until we meet again, then," Eames said as he walked out the door.

It only took Yusuf a few days to correct the sedative. The moment he realizes it's right, Yusuf jumped out of his seat and screamed in joy. Dean peeked in, raising an eyebrow quizzically and then retreated, deciding he didn't want to know after all. Yusuf dialed Eames' number and before Eames could even say anything, Yusuf began blabbering.

"Eames! I've got it! You need to come down and see this, it's amazing!" Yusuf quirked happily. He could hear Eames chuckle on the other line.

"Sure thing mate. I'll come down and test it as soon as possible. Maybe we can go celebrate," Eames laughed before thanking Yusuf and hanging up.

-  
Three hours later, Eames did not shown up. Yusuf began to worry.

"What if someone found out? Shit, what if Eames is dead?" he muttered to himself in fear. But he knew that Eames was fine. He couldn't read or write, but Yusuf knew Eames wasn't stupid. Eames was fine. Suddenly, Yusuf heard the shop door open and his head shot up, expecting his friend to be standing there, expecting the sedative. However it was not Eames- unless Eames had decided to shave his head, grow 5 inches and get a tattoo on his neck.

"May I help you?" Yusuf asked uncomfortably.

"Yeah, you can give me the sedative," the man said gruffly, getting right to the point.

"I'm sorry… sedative…?" Yusuf lied.

"Don't fuck around with me! I know you're working for Eames, now give me the sedative," he demands.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you're talking about."

The man pulled out a gun and pointed it at Yusuf.

"I'm going to count to three and when I get to three, you'd better fucking have the sedative or so help me god, your guts will be all over the floor."

The man cocked the gun and began counting slowly. And no matter how much Yusuf wanted to just give him the chemical, his mind simply did not allow it. _You can't betray your friends!_ Yusuf yelled at himself. He just desperately wished for Eames to come save him at that moment.

"3. Time's up," the man said, pulling the trigger furiously. Yusuf grunted, feeling the bullet plunge into his chest violently. The impact caused him to crash into the wall behind him. And to his murderer's surprise, as well as his own, Yusuf began laughing.

"I'm the only one who knew where it was. And you wanted to kill me? God, you're so dumb," he laughed. It began as a chuckle but then grew louder and louder until Yusuf was laughing hysterically, choking on his own laughter. The man, furious at this point, pointed the gun between Yusuf's eyes and with flared nostrils, was ready to end him. And then finally, Eames arrived.

"The fuck you think you're doing?" Eames yelled, pressing his gun into the man's back and shooting.

"Eames, you little prick. Why the fuck are you so fucking late?" Yusuf coughed.

"Well there's no need to thank me for saving your life," Eames quipped sarcastically.

"You little shit… I'm already dying!" Yusuf laughed and Eames joined him as he walked around the front desk (table is more like it) and knelt on the ground next to Yusuf.

"I've already tested the sedative. It's wonderful really, so beautiful," Yusuf whispered.

"Listen mate, we're going to get you to a hospital. Just, don't move alright?"

"No, it's no use. I'm already going. The sedative is in a clear flask on my workbench in the back. It's a pale yellow color, you can't miss it," Yusuf explained, gripping Eames' shirt. He could feel the tears burning his eyes.

"You can't do this Yusuf, we've got to get you help," Eames said, choking back on his tears.

"It's alright, Eames. It's just good to be amongst friends."


End file.
